Author: openjargon

• BeReal is acquired by Voodoo Games for 500 million euros.
• The once-popular social media app struggled to grow and had limited runway left.
• Co-founder and CEO Alexis Barreyat will leave BeReal after a transition period.

BeReal is being acquired.

The startup social media app, which soared in popularity during the height of the pandemic and struggled to find long-term footing with users, has been purchased by Voodoo Games.

Voodoo, a French gaming company, said it valued BeReal at 500 million euros.

Business Insider first reported that BeReal was looking to be acquired. The company was struggling to grow user numbers and had less than a year of runway left from previous rounds of funding.

As part of the sale to Voodoo, BeReal co-founder and CEO Alexis Barreyat is leaving the company after a transition period.

Are you a tech employee or someone else with a tip or insight to share? Contact Kali Hays at khays@businessinsider.com or on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267. Reach out using a non-work device.

• Scientists have known about Mars holes for years but an old image has reignited interest. 
• These holes could contain evidence of alien life on Mars and be a shelter for future astronauts.
• But there are still many questions about how deep these holes are and where they lead.

In case you hadn't heard, there's a hole on Mars — multiple holes, actually. These holes, or pits, aren't news. Here's a photo of one from 2007:

However, an image taken by the HiRISE camera in 2022 recently resurfaced on the University of Arizona HiRISE's Picture of the Day, reigniting the conversation around these fascinating features.

Any excuse to talk about these holes is a good one because they remain largely mysterious and full of promise for future scientific missions.

What are those mysterious holes on Mars?

The holes, aka pits, are located on the flanks of ancient volcanoes in Mars's Tharsis region, the largest volcanic region on the red planet and home to some of the biggest volcanoes in our solar system.

As far as scientists can tell, Mars is no longer volcanically active. So there's no risk of these giant volcanoes erupting. But there is a possibility that residual underground lava tubes may still exist.

Scientists think these holes are "skylights," or places where the ground above the lava tubes has caved in and created a gaping hole in the surface, Brandon Johnson, a geophysicist at Purdue University who studies impact craters throughout the solar system, told Business Insider.

If these lava tubes are anything like Earth's, they could be the perfect place for astronauts to hunker down during their stay on Mars.

"There's more than one of these [pits] on Mars that we've seen," Johnson said. "But they're really interesting because they're places where astronauts might be able to go and be safe from radiation."

That said, it's unclear how deep these holes go or where they lead. We can only speculate from what we see on other planets, like our own.

"On the Earth, these lava tubes can be large enough to walk around in, but they can also be small or the voids can be discrete or discontinuous," Ross Beyer, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute, told Business Insider over email. "So these pits we see could open into larger caves, or they could just be isolated pits."

Beyer added, "There's no way to know what's in them until we explore them in more detail."

Besides hypothetical human missions that may, or may not, happen anytime soon, there's a far more important reason to explore these holes further.

Is there life on Mars?

These holes could be one of the best places to search for evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars because they may offer a protective, warm sanctuary from the planet's unforgiving surface.

For example, lava tubes on the moon can be as warm as 63 °F. That's plenty warm enough for life to arise inside. It's unclear if lava tubes on Mars would also be this warm — it's not a stretch to imagine, just a challenge to confirm.

Right now, the only information scientists know about these holes is what they can see from orbiting cameras in space. When it launched onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in 2005, the HiRISE camera was the most powerful telescope to ever leave Earth's orbit and has since transformed our understanding of the red planet, snapping over 80,000 images. But it's still limited.

"Unfortunately, there is a limit to the 'angle' that we can get from orbit to look 'into' these pits. So sometimes we can see 'walls' and sometimes we can't," Beyer told BI.

The best way to explore below the surface would be to physically go inside by dispatching a rover to investigate the pit, Johnson said.

"There are missions proposed to essentially have a robot go on a line and drop down into one of these skylights and be able to explore what's inside of them," he said.

But to be clear, just because there could be life in these pits, doesn't mean Mars definitely hosts extraterrestrials.

"This is a good place to look, but we don't know if there's life on Mars at all," Johnson said.

In the meantime, to understand these mysterious holes as much as we can, "HiRISE and other Mars-orbiting spacecraft will certainly continue to take images of volcanic areas from orbit to try and characterize them better," Beyer said.

Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming service, so it's home to popular TV shows like "The Office" and Universal movies like the "Jurassic Park" franchise. It's one of our picks for the best streaming services you can subscribe to, especially if you're a fan of NBC's programs. But before you can start watching TV and movies, you must log into the app or website.

Here's how to navigate through the Peacock login process on your computer or mobile device, even if you have lost your account credentials. 

How to log into Peacock on a computer

1. Go to peacocktv.com in a web browser. 

2. At the top right of the page, click Sign In. 

3. Type your email address and then click Continue.

4. Enter your password and then click Sign In. 

How to log into Peacock on a mobile device

1. Open the Peacock app on your Android or iOS device.

2. Tap Sign In.

3. Type your email address and password, and then click Sign In.

What to do if you can't log into Peacock

If you're having trouble logging into your Peacock account, there are generally just a few potential issues. 

• You are using the wrong email address or password. Make sure you're using the email address you used to create your Peacock account.
• You are a cable TV customer and you haven't linked your account. If you're an Xfinity, Cox, or Spectrum customer, you may need to link your Peacock account to your cable TV account. Go to PeacockTV.com/account and sign into your account. In the Link Provider section, click your cable provider and use your cable TV provider's credentials to sign in and link your account to your Peacock subscription.

• You've forgotten your Peacock password. If you don't remember your password, go to the Peacock sign-in page and click I don't know my password. Enter your email address and follow the instructions to perform a password reset. 
• You've forgotten your Peacock email address. If in doubt, use the same email address that Peacock uses to send you account updates and information about the newest TV shows and movies. You can also check your inbox, deleted mail, and spam folders to find the welcome email from Peacock.

• We asked three interior designers to share which living-room items are worth splurging on.
• They said that you should invest in a quality sofa, as it's the main piece of furniture in the room.
• The experts also said window treatments deserve a splurge because they pull a room together.

Though we all love to save money when it comes to decorating our homes, there are some pieces that are worth spending a little more on, according to professionals. 

Business Insider asked three interior designers which living-room items are deserving of a splurge.

A sofa is a central piece of living-room furniture, so it's worth the investment

The sofa is the most important piece of furniture in the living room, according to Rachel Street, an interior designer who hosted DIY Network's "Philly Revival."

"This is a good place to spend your budget," Street told BI. "The ideal sofa will provide a comfortable place to sit as well as add to the overall design of the room." 

For a modern space, choose a leather sofa with clean, square shapes. If you prefer an eclectic look, look for a bright color or fun pattern.

A bar is great when you're entertaining guests

Whether it be a wet bar or a wine cabinet, having a little bar area in the living room is convenient for when you have guests over. And it can really add to the design, according to Street.

Samantha Orley, an interior designer at Orley Interiors, shared tips on keeping your bar stocked.

"Everyone should have a well-stocked bar with fine scotch, whiskey, vodka, and tequila, along with an assortment of aperitifs, to appeal to any guests' tastes," she told BI.

The designer also suggested investing in some crystal glassware.

Investing in original artwork is a great way to add character to your home

Street told BI that original artwork adds both character and interest to a design. According to Robbie Maynard, interior designer of Robbie Interiors, you can also instantly elevate a space with quality artwork.

"This is a good place to invest," Maynard told BI. "It is very visible and will make a significant statement and set the tone for the room."

Accent chairs can add color and uniqueness to a room

"I love hunting for and investing in unique accent chairs, oftentimes recovering in a custom fabric," Orley told BI. 

Depending on the room's layout and the style, you may opt for two matching chairs or chairs of different sizes and colors, according to Street.

Make a statement with a beautiful area rug

Area rugs are an important statement piece that set the style and tone for the room, so they're worth spending a little more on, according to Maynard.

If statement rugs aren't your thing, Street recommended opting for a basic one that provides a neutral backdrop for other design elements.

A sound system doesn't have to take away from the design if it's done right

"One of my favorite upgrades to make to a living space is to add a built-in sound system," Street told BI.  

Hidden ceiling speakers are great for parties and don't detract from the room's design. 

Window treatments are often overlooked but are well worth the investment

From custom curtains to electronically controlled blinds, window treatments really help to pull a room together

Street told BI you should choose a fabric and design that will complement the other items in the room.

A coffee table can set the tone for the living room, making it a splurge-worthy item

If you're looking for one statement piece to splurge on, Orley recommended a coffee table. 

"I usually suggest splurging on something that will give the space a lot of character, like a split bi-level Travertine table or a more contemporary marble table," she told BI. 

Lighting fixtures can elevate your entire living room

Adequate lighting is a very important element of any room, so it's not something to skimp on.

"When designing a living room, I pay special attention to all the light fixtures, including recessed fixtures and decorative table lamps," Maynard told BI. 

For frequent travelers, spending money on high-quality faux plants is ideal

For frequent fliers or those who just don't have time to take care of real plants, it may be worth it to invest in quality faux plants.

"If you spend the money on good, quality faux plants, you can't tell they are not real and they never need to be watered," Maynard told BI. 

Beautiful coffee-table books provide insight into a person's life

Books add personality and insight into a person's home.

According to Orley, there's nothing more telling than an assortment of coffee-table books from various travels around the world.

Throw pillows are an easy way to transform your space

"I like to have a few sets of throw pillows for my living room because this allows me to switch them out and give a different look and feel to the room depending on the season or mood," Street told BI. 

For winter, you can opt for more fluffy pillows and a cozy throw, and for summer, lighter and brighter fabrics are a great choice.

Candles and incense create a warm and welcoming environment

Candles and incense are worth spending a little extra on because they really help to create a warm and welcoming ambiance.

"I encourage clients to find a few scents they love that become their signature," Orley said. "I often travel with incense to bring a little bit of home and coziness to wherever I might be."

This story was originally published in June 2022 and most recently updated on June 11, 2024. 

• Elon Musk, who has a … complicated relationship with advertisers, is going to appear at a big ad conference.
• It's pretty standard for tech companies to court advertisers at the Cannes Lions event in France.
• But Musk and his company skipped last year's event.

Last fall Elon Musk told advertisers to go fuck themselves.

Maybe he has a different message now: The man who bought Twitter, turned it into "X," and saw his advertising revenue plummet, is heading to the Cannes Lions ad summit in France next week.

WPP, one of the world's biggest ad companies, said Musk will appear at an event with WPP CEO Mark Read on June 18.

This one won't be a grilling. From the release: "The interview will cover the transformative power of technological innovation, how AI is reshaping creativity, business and society, and the future of X." No word on whether Musk will be there in person or will be beaming in, like he did most recently at a Paris tech conference.

Cannes is the ad industry's biggest event of the year, and it's quite standard for Big Tech companies to show up there and try to woo advertisers.

Musk's appearance is primarily newsworthy because he didn't go last year and has mostly avoided ad gatherings in general. (Linda Yaccarino, the former NBC sales boss who became Musk's CEO a year ago, is also scheduled to appear in Cannes this month.)

Related: Many advertisers have avoided Twitter/X since he bought the company in the fall of 2022, and Musk's relationships with ad buyers remain pretty … strained. Last fall, Musk famously told advertisers that had stopped working with his company to "go fuck yourself" and accused them of trying to "blackmail" him.

Musk routinely predicts a future for Twitter/X where the company won't be dependent on advertising dollars because he'll also be making lots of money from subscriptions and other revenue streams.

But those alternative dollars haven't shown up in meaningful amounts, and advertisers are still quite wary of Musk. So off to France he goes. (I'll also be there along with some of my Business Insider colleagues. Come say hi!)

• Taylor Swift endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, but Donald Trump is still a Swift fan.
• "I think she's very beautiful, actually, unusually beautiful!" Trump said about her in an interview in November.
• Trump's quote is slated to appear in a forthcoming book about "The Apprentice."

Donald Trump is a Swiftie.

Well, sort of.

The former president fawned over Taylor Swift in an interview with Variety's Ramin Setoodeh in November.

The remarks are set to be published in Setoodeh's forthcoming book about Trump's hit reality television series "The Apprentice." Variety published a preview of the book — and Trump's quote — on Monday.

"I think she's beautiful, very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she's liberal. She probably doesn't like Trump. I hear she's very talented," Trump said of Swift, per Variety.

"I think she's very beautiful, actually, unusually beautiful!" he continued.

Representatives for Trump and Swift did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

This isn't the first time Trump has gushed about Swift.

In 2012, Trump tweeted about taking a "beautiful picture" with Swift. He also sounded elated when Swift was announced as the co-host of that year's Grammy nominations television special.

However, Trump's views of Swift have wavered over the years, particularly when Swift has spoken out against him or the GOP.

When Swift voiced her opposition against Tennessee Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in 2018, Trump expressed his disappointment in the singer.

"I'm sure Taylor Swift doesn't know anything about her and let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, okay?" Trump told reporters at the time.

Swift, for her part, slammed Trump's leadership before publicly endorsing his rival Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Swift has yet to endorse a presidential candidate for this year's election, but she remains influential in the political sphere.

In September, Swift helped Vote.org reach its most successful Voter Registration Day since 2020 after she posted an Instagram story urging her followers to register.

Setoodeh's book, "Apprentice in Wonderland," is set to be released on June 18.

• Russia is using four submarines to monitor the Black Sea, a Ukrainian official told national TV.
• Dmitry Pletenchuk said three were cruise missile carriers and that two "periodically" go to sea.
• Russia has ramped up the pace of its subs production, with one type worrying NATO officials.

Russia has started using submarines to patrol the Black Sea after suffering major naval losses, according to a Ukrainian official.

Dmitry Pletenchuk, a spokesman for Ukraine's southern military command, made the statement on Ukrainian national television on Monday, per Ukrainska Pravda.

According to Pletenchuk, Russia is now deploying four submarines, three of which are cruise missile carriers, to patrol the Black Sea.

Russian forces "have already established practice where these submarines rotate in the morning," Pletenchuk said, per the Kyiv Independent.

He added that the submarines were operating in the Azov-Black Sea region, with two "periodically" going to sea, per the outlet.

Pletenchuk's statements came after Russia's navy suffered a series of major losses in the Black Sea.

Ukraine has deployed drones, missiles, and other weaponry to go after Russian warships, including smaller vessels like tugboats. Earlier this year, Ukraine's military claimed to have destroyed a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The UK's defense ministry declared the fleet "functionally inactive" in March.

The attacks have forced Russia's fleet to seek safer ports further away from Crimea.

But even there, Russian forces have come under attack, with Ukrainian drones targeting the Novorossiysk port last month.

The Novorossiysk Fuel oil terminal and Transneft terminal were attacked on May 17, the Kyiv Independent reported, with satellite images taken on May 18 showing traces of a fire.

Pletenchuk also said that three Russian landing ships and three Buyan-M-class missile ships were now stationed in the Azov Sea, and that Russia was "building structures such as barges and background fences" to try to protect its ships.

Russia is known to have used submarines in the Black Sea, with some having suffered damages. One type — the Yasen-class submarines — has become a top concern for NATO.

Russia spent twenty years building its first Yasen-class submarine, also known as the Severodvinsk class, which entered service in 2013, but the pace has quickened since then.

Two more entered service in 2021, and a fourth was scheduled to join the fleet last November.

Five others are being built or have already been launched, BI's Christopher Woody reported in December.

The designated nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine has what looks like improved sonar and a smaller and quieter reactor than earlier models, and can also fire land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles.

This has alarmed Western authorities, as they worry it could allow the subs to reach and target key locations in Europe and North America.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hi there! If you've ever thought of booking a cruise, we've got a rundown on the cruise line that's right for you.

In today's big story, we're looking at all the takeaways from Apple's big event, including its friendlier spin on artificial intelligence.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Inside the Point72 intern program that's the first step toward potentially becoming a portfolio manager.
• Tech: The top companies in tech have become overrun by career managers instead of actual technologists.
• Business: A Gen Zer trying to retire in her 30s describes working two jobs.

But first, it's not AI; it's Apple Intelligence.

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The big story

Apple's AI

Artificial intelligence is finally coming to Apple's iPhone. Just don't call it that.

Apple's big annual event for its software included plenty of cool unveilings.

But the real star was Apple finally detailing its plans for generative AI.

Apple Intelligence — it's AI, just not that AI — is the company's first big swing in the space. CEO Tim Cook described it as Apple's "next big step."

Apple has faced criticism for lagging behind peers due to its lack of AI plans, but it's still positioned incredibly well. Data is the name of the game when it comes to AI, and Apple's iPhones are full of it.

Having such deep context about users gives Apple a leg up. The use cases it demoed Monday — here are some of the coolest ones — showed Apple Intelligence's ability to retrieve and analyze information across multiple apps for a personalized experience.

Wall Street seems to have bought in. Early indication from analyst notes was that Apple's AI announcements lived up to expectations, writes Business Insider's Jordan Hart.

But maybe you're feeling uneasy about giving AI access to all that personal data. Apple says its architecture enables it to be aware of your personal data without outright collecting it.

Overall, Apple's vision of AI feels a lot kinder and gentler than other iterations of the tech that have gotten people nervous, writes BI's Katie Notopoulos.

As exciting as some of these new AI features sound, there's a catch.

Apple Intelligence doesn't come cheap, from a compute perspective. Only the newest and most powerful iPhones will be able to handle it, meaning anything short of an iPhone 15 Pro won't cut it.

That presents a unique business opportunity for Apple, writes BI's Peter Kafka, which has struggled to get people to upgrade their iPhones in recent years.

If you're not willing to shell out for a new phone — I'm still rocking a 12 Pro Max — you won't be completely left out in the cold. iOS 18 will come with plenty of non-AI features that iPhone users can enjoy.

iMessage is adding the ability to schedule text messages. The iPhone's home screen will get more customization options that are strikingly similar to Android devices. And Apple's inbox is even getting some love, although some are AI-only features.

At least one person wasn't impressed, though. Initially, Elon Musk took jabs at how underwhelming some of Apple's announcements were.

However, the Apple Intelligence news and partnership with OpenAI is what really set the billionaire off.

Musk, who is notably not a fan of OpenAI, threatened to ban Apple devices at his companies if the startup's software was integrated into the tech giant's operating system.

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3 things in markets

1. If Elon Musk's pay package fails, some of his investors might suffer, too. Musk's $56 billion pay package gets voted on this week. If it doesn't get approved, Tesla's share price could drop 5%, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.
2. Point72 welcomes its newest class of aspiring investment analysts. The hedge fund fielded its largest-ever group for its Academy Investment Analyst Summer Internship. It's the first step toward potentially becoming a portfolio manager at Steve Cohen's fund. The program head detailed what it entails.
3. How r/WallStreetBets kicked off the GameStop frenzy. The GameStop hype is back in full swing. But if you're not an OG believer in the stock, you may not remember how it all began on a prosperous Black Friday — or why it was the perfect opportunity for revenge.

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3 things in tech

1. How to save the tech industry. Silicon Valley has been taken over by career managers, putting shareholder value over innovation. To fix the industry, we must return it to people who actually build tech to solve problems.
2. OpenAI just got two new execs. Sarah Friar, previously the CEO of Nextdoor, will be OpenAI's new CFO. Kevin Weil, who's joining from Planet Labs, will be chief product officer. Meet Sam Altman's newest colleagues.
3. A healthcare AI startup just scored a big win. Regard has closed a $30 million Series B funding round and landed a $350 million valuation, BI has learned. Its tech uses AI to help doctors synthesize data and even suggests diagnoses.

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3 things in business

1. Life as an overemployed 25-year-old. The author has been working two jobs since college, hoping to retire in her 30s. She said she's sacrificed sleep and spending time with friends to try to reach FIRE status.
2. ChatGPT can help you find a new job. Kinda. BI's reporter asked the bot to find her a job. She found it can speed up the job-hunting process, but it also makes mistakes — like inventing roles that don't exist.
3. Get ready to wait longer for interest rate cuts. The Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady this Wednesday after a hot jobs report and still-high inflation. However, sources told BI that two sets of rate cuts could be on the cards later this year.

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In other news

• Zyn shortages continue. But the popular nicotine pouches will be back on more shelves later this year, an executive says.
• China's explosive export growth could make trade tensions with America even worse.
• Boutique investment bank Moelis has placed a senior banker on leave after a video circulated online appearing to show him punching a woman.
• Billionaire LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman slams business leaders who support Trump: A 'reliable legal system is not a given.'
• Biden's approval rating just hit its lowest mark on record.
• Waze cofounder explains the test he uses to figure out whether to fire a new employee — and how it can be used to figure out if you should switch jobs.
• 3 big trends are working in Walmart's favor.

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What's happening today

• Today's earnings: Oracle and other companies are reporting.
• The Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting begins.

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The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London.

• China conducted massive drills around Taiwan last month, surrounding the island.
• It demonstrated how easily China can launch a drill with little to no warning.
• These exercises could easily escalate.

Last month, China conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan with the intent to send a message.

As elements of the Chinese joint force surrounded the island democracy for the two-day event, it became clear how easily one of these massive drills could escalate into conflict, giving China the ability to launch a blockade or quarantine of the island with little to no warning.

The Chinese armed forces have been able to "essentially start mounting an increased tempo of these large-scale drills that have a lot of the makings of a blockade," Tom Shugart, a former US Navy officer and current adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, said.

He added that the May exercise showed that China's fleet "is very well suited" for a blockade or quarantine of Taiwan.

The Department of Defense has identified a blockade as a possibility, noting in its most recent report on the Chinese military that "PLA writings describe a Joint Blockade Campaign in which the PRC would employ blockades of maritime and air traffic, including a cut-off of Taiwan's vital imports, to force Taiwan's capitulation."

If effectively executed, such action would potentially have immediate and dire consequences for Taiwan's economy, cutting off its trade and shipping. Such a move could force its military into action without necessarily triggering a military response from the US and its allies, possibly leaving it to stand alone.

After the most recent Chinese military drills, US Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo said the US observed the exercises closely, learning from them and assessing that they "looked like a rehearsal" for a military action against Taiwan.

There has long been speculation that the US would respond with force to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, but the US response in the case of a blockade or quarantine, actions short of an amphibious assault, remains unclear.

China's recent exercise "Joint Sword" focused on "joint sea-air combat readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets," according to Chinese state media reports. The training included mock strikes by fighter jets with live ammunition and drills with various naval vessels, including frigates and destroyers.

The exercise appeared similar, in many respects, to the drills in April 2023 and notably tamer than the August 2022 drills, which occurred after then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. The latest exercise lasted only two days compared to seven.

And the Chinese-declared zones for May's drills were also only along the edges of Taiwan's contiguous zone, compared to the 2022 drills, which featured large exclusion zones that crossed into Taiwan's airspace and waters. During those exercises, China also fired missiles over the island, a highly provocative action.

Yet the latest exercise came with almost no warning, suggesting China can continue conducting such drills surrounding Taiwan at its leisure and prepare for and launch them with minimal notice.

"This is less a distinct operation and more just a step up in tempo," Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major general and strategist focusing on evolutions in warfare, told BI.

"What this shows us," Ryan said, "is that they have an ongoing operation which they can kind of turn the temperature up and down on with more fidelity now than they have been able to previously."

That would help China, were it to suddenly pursue a more aggressive course, maintain the element of surprise, which its war doctrine emphasizes as a key component of its fighting plans.

By increasing the frequency of and normalizing its military presence around Taiwan, China is adopting what experts and military officials, including retired Adm. John Aquilino, the former head of US INDOPACOM, have referred to as a "boiling frog" strategy.

The strategy essentially involves stepping up and maintaining aggression in the area so that the critical point when China actually decides to enact a blockade or quarantine is less discernible.

Such an event would be an act of war, but it still leaves the US and its allies in an odd place, weighing options as to how to respond, especially if it is short of large-scale violence.

Think tanks have played out war games of different Taiwan invasion scenarios, some of which have resulted in heavy losses for US, Japanese, and South Korean forces, as well as China's military. An all-out invasion isn't the only option though, as the recent drills demonstrated.

"The exercise really highlights the vulnerability of Taiwan to a lot of other scenarios than just invasion," Shugart said, noting that regardless of when or if one of these large drills transitions into a blockade, the most concerning issues are how easily that could occur and how China continues to use its military presence to create a new normal in the area.

And within that new norm, China could create a situation in which Taiwan, exhausted and overwhelmed, is fractured, its resolve ultimately degraded.

Per a report published last month by war experts from the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War, an aggressive Chinese coercion campaign — short of war and more likely than a full-scale invasion — would involve boosting the Chinese military presence and pressure around Taiwan and possibly even a blockade or quarantine.

The report asserted that the US is ill-equipped for such an event, instead overly preoccupied with preparing for a potential amphibious assault, and that "Taiwan is strategically vital to the larger US-led coalition to contain" China, arguing that a "US-friendly Taiwan links America's allies in the northwestern Pacific with US partners and allies to the south."

However, a China-controlled Taiwan "would become a springboard for further PRC aggression and would seriously compromise the US-led coalition's ability to operate cohesively."

• Tesla appears to be ramping up hiring again after Elon Musk's brutal layoffs.
• The automaker is advertising for a host of roles. 
• Tesla previously cut all but 3 of its 3,400 job listings in North America after layoffs.

Tesla appears to be ramping up hiring again, nearly two months after Elon Musk kicked off mass layoffs.

The automaker previously reduced the number of available jobs for North America on its website from 3,400 to just 3 after it slashed 10% of its global workforce in April and laid off more workers in the weeks after. Tesla then posted over a dozen jobs in the company's autopilot division in late May.

Now, however, Tesla appears to have expanded its hiring to cover a variety of roles, with over 60 positions in the US and Canada advertised on the company's website.

Per Linkedin, these jobs appear to have been posted within the last two weeks.

It suggests the electric vehicle manufacturer is beginning to ramp up hiring again after a brutal run of rolling layoffs throughout April and May. Electrek was the first to report on the new job listings.

The roles advertised include positions on Tesla's energy — solar and storage teams. Some of these include providing "corrective maintenance services" to Tesla's energy products, including its charging stations.

Tesla laid off its entire supercharger division as part of the cuts, reportedly after the division's chief reportedly defied Musk and refused to lay off any more of the team. The company subsequently rehired some members of the supercharger team, according to Bloomberg.

The layoffs sparked uncertainty among Tesla's suppliers, with Andres Pinter, the co-CEO of Tesla supplier Bullet EV Charging Solutions, previously telling Business Insider that the company had a "serious case of whiplash."

"It sounds like an existing Tesla team from a different department has been inserted to manage the charging division," said Pinter, who added that it was unclear if this move was temporary or permanent.

The company is also advertising for several roles at Tesla's forthcoming lithium plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. Musk has said the plant will produce enough battery metal to build about 1 million electric vehicles by 2025.

Tesla also lists positions for its internship programs, with roles in vehicle servicing and mechanical design, for example, advertised for the summer and fall of 2024.

The automaker previously appeared to revoke some of its summer internships less than a month before their start date, with one would-be intern posting on LinkedIn that his internship was canceled three weeks before his start date.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.

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